The first step to assessing Davos and the World Economic Forum is reading up on who attends. Yanofsky answers that question in novel ways â particularly the regional breakdown and analysis. Two-thirds of attendees hail from North America or Europe. Less than 8% come from Africa and South AmericaâŚcombined. This piece seems to take the âWorldâ out of âWorld Economic Forum.âÂ Â

In thisÂ report, The World Economic Forum spells out possible long-term challenges that Russia faces. It focuses on three inÂ particular: the âongoing evolutions in the global energy landscape, the quality of Russia’s domestic institutional environment and dynamics of social cohesion within the country.â Lo and behold, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev was in Davos– andÂ he responded to the report in his keynote address. Whether he provided any revelatory answers is another story.

In the last 30 years, extreme weather has cost the United States an estimatedÂ $1.06 trillion dollars. If even a significant fraction of that volatile weather is a product of climate change, then the US needs to brace itself for a hefty bill going forward.

In Davos, weâve seen a lot of attention to the structural positive economic trends underway in the United States. Chief among them? The energy revolution taking place in North America. This piece spells out the implications.

Author Profile

Ian Bremmer is the president of Eurasia Group, the leading global political risk research and consulting firm. Bremmer created Wall Street's first global political risk index, and has authored several books, including the national bestseller, The End of the Free Market: Who Wins the War Between States and Corporations?, which details the new global phenomenon of state capitalism and its geopolitical implications. He has a PhD in political science from Stanford University (1994), and was the youngest-ever national fellow at the Hoover Institution.